So, here’s the problem... I’ve wanted a new cell phone since Tom got his Droid back in late October.  But my New Every 2 date with Verizon was until May 6th. So, for a little over six months, I waited and watched and read everything I could find about the new cell phones that were coming out.  But I had definite criteria for this new cell phone of mine.

First of all, it had to have a bigger (and better) screen than my current Blackberry Curve.  It’s served me well, but it’s time to upgrade.  Touchscreen is also a must.  After using my iPod Touch and now my iPad, I catch myself trying to swipe something to move it on my Blackberry.  Oops!

That brings up another criteria.  I am a Mac fan and would love to have an iPhone.  But, I love my Verizon coverage and service even more.  Heck, I’ve been with Verizon so long it was AirTouch when I originally signed up for it back in 1998. So, unless Uncle Steve announces an iPhone on Verizon Monday at the WWDC keynote address, I don’t think an iPhone is in the cards for me right now.

As much as I want a touchscreen, I also would like a physical keyboard.  Again, after years with two different Blackberries, I’ve gotten to be a pretty fast typer on the BB keyboard.  Not so on most virtual keyboards I’ve tried.  The one exception is the virtual keyboard on the iPad, but that’s thanks to the large keys on it.

The ability to tether my MacBook Pro or my iPad to my phone would be nice, but not a deal breaker since we own a MiFi. But, then there’s only one MiFi and Tom is needing it more and more for his business trips.

Being able to easily set up all of my email accounts is a must.  That’s one thing I will give to Blackberry.  Their web interface for this made adding an email account a breeze.  No other smartphone that I’ve tried has been that easy.

And believe me, I’ve been trying lots of phones lately!  I’ve used Tom’s Motorola Droid many times and once, in a pinch, I even booked a client’s Walt Disney World vacation on it.  The physical keyboard was key for that.  But, since I had some time before I could upgrade, I wanted to try out some more phones.  

I also tried the HTC Droid Eris. This one, I loved how it felt in my hand.  When you think about how much time you spend holding your smartphone, this is an important consideration.  The one I tried out only had Android OS 1.5 on it and, at that time, it was unclear when it was going to be upgraded  (it is now).

Next was a Blackberry Storm2.  I tried this one out at a Gadget Happy Hour that Verizon had sponsored last fall.  At first glance, I was pleasantly surprised.  Since I was coming from a Blackberry, maybe this was the choice for me.  However, after using it for a while, the SurePress screen seemed too “clicky” and I got frustrated with it.  I tried to convince myself that it was just something new & different and that I’d get used to it, but I never did.  I handed it to a friend at lunch and her first response was “Eww.”  I’ve since learned that people either love it or hate it and I’ve even met co-workers who think it’s the best phone ever.  But, I think you can guess which camp I fell in.

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that Tom and I tried out a Microsoft Kin Two last month.  When I had to pull out the instructions to figure out how to turn it on, I knew it wasn’t going to be good.

Currently, we have a Palm Pixi and a HTC Incredible for testing.  This is our second time trying the Incredible (see our First Look review).  It’s been nice to have it for more than 24 hours this time and I’ve finding things that I missed the first time.

The Palm Pixi Plus was a real surprise.  Prior to their acquisition by HP, I thought Palm was dead in the water.  Like many people, I had had a Palm Pilot and I couldn’t get past the idea that that was what a Palm device was like.  The Palm Pixi Plus is definitely not a Palm Pilot.

The Palm Pixi, like the Eris, feels great in your hand.  The calendar is easy to use and looks great.  Both Google and Yahoo mail accounts are easy to set up.  My other less common email accounts were trickier.  Since my school really wants off-campus users to use the web interface for email and doesn’t provide the information needed to set up your mail on a smart phone, setting up my Exchange email account was a pain.

There were several things that weren’t intuitive and I ended having to consult the user’s manual or even do a web search to figure out how to do.  Ultimately though, the thing that made the Palm Pixi Plus not the phone for me was the small screen size.  At only 2.6” diagonal, it’s not much better than my Blackberry Curve.  But, for someone moving up to their first smartphone, I think the Palm Pixi Plus would be a great one to start with. And the mobile hotspot is a definite plus!

With this second go round with the HTC Incredible, I’ve come to appreciate it more.  The Android 2.1 combined with the HTC Sense makes it a very snappy phone to use.  Unlike the Pixi, I was able to easily set up all of my email account, even the pesky Exchange one.  

I also like the on-screen hints it gives you.  For example, when you launch the camera app and start framing your subject up, the on-screen tip reminds you to “Press the optical joystick to take a photo.”  Simple, but nice.

I love the screen and the virtual keyboard isn’t too bad to use when you turn it to landscape view.  However, the virtual keyboard also takes up about half of the screen which makes inputting information into a web site a challenge at times.

So, where does this leave me?  Well, right now, I’m waiting to try out the LG Ally next.  It has an physical keyboard like the Droid, but the body of the phone is more rounded.  From all accounts, the Ally physicall keyboard is better than the one on the Droid, but the 3.2-megapixel camera is an issue with so many other phones shipping with 8-megepixel cameras.  And maybe I should check out the Palm Pre Plus too. The verdict?  Wait and see... There’s always Uncle Steve’s keynote at WWDC later today...